When it comes to building a 53-man roster, some of the bottom spots aren’t won based on what a player does on offense or defense, but on how he plays on special teams. For example, being the fifth or sixth best receiver on a team might not earn you a spot on the roster if the seventh best receiver is also a special teams star who can cover kicks and punts, block on returns or even add value as a returner.

With that in mind, when it comes to settling the final battles for a roster spot, the real moments of truth for those players may very well come on special teams and not on offense or defense, especially since kickoffs and punts are harder to replicate in practice situations and can only be fully evaluated in these three preseason games. And with that truth can come a conflicting mindset for players. On one hand, this final game is a huge opportunity, but on the other hand, if a player hasn’t put enough good stuff on tape yet and is counting on a big preseason finale to improve his chances, he may end up trying too hard and making too many mistakes.

“I think it’s true, both of those things are true,” special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh. “Every opportunity is important. The last game is important, the first game is important, and every practice is important. The games are probably more important, but at this point you have a pretty good idea of ​​how people are going to play. Both of those things are true, every game is important, and this one is important because it’s the game that’s right in front of us. But there’s a cumulative body of work that guys are going to be judged on, and this is just the next one, which makes it the biggest. They’re kind of competing ideas, but the guys who think the other way around, like, ‘Oh, it’s time to turn it on,’ they’re in trouble.”

Macdonald is also curious to see what will happen on the special teams as players compete for a spot on the roster.

“There’s a lot of questions about the depth of the special teams in the defensive backfield, so it may not be as exciting for you guys, but for us as coaches, it’s an opportunity to go out there and earn a job in this league, whether it’s with us or another team,” Macdonald said. “We’ll talk to the guys about it over the next few days, but there are so many examples of people who have earned a spot in this third preseason game. Everyone has their own timetable to earn a chance to play professional football, which is a tremendous blessing, so I’m excited. It’s not easy to get this opportunity to make your dreams come true, so it’s going to be a fun night.”